The mass of the W boson, a mediator of the weak force between elementary particles, is tightly constrained by the symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. The Higgs boson was the last missing component of the model. After observation of the Higgs boson, a measurement of the W boson mass provides a stringent test of the model. We measure the W boson mass,
M
W , using data corresponding to 8.8 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected in proton-antiproton collisions at a 1.96 tera–electron volt center-of-mass energy with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. A sample of approximately 4 million W boson candidates is used to obtain , the precision of which exceeds that of all previous measurements combined (stat, statistical uncertainty; syst, systematic uncertainty; MeV, mega–electron volts; c , speed of light in a vacuum). This measurement is in significant tension with the standard model expectation.
We present a new measurement of the positive muon magnetic anomaly, , from the Fermilab Muon Experiment using data collected in 2019 and 2020. We have analyzed more than 4 times the number of positrons from muon decay than in our previous result from 2018 data. The systematic error is reduced by more than a factor of 2 due to better running conditions, a more stable beam, and improved knowledge of the magnetic field weighted by the muon distribution, , and of the anomalous precession frequency corrected for beam dynamics effects, . From the ratio , together with precisely determined external parameters, we determine (0.21 ppm). Combining this result with our previous result from the 2018 data, we obtain (0.20 ppm). The new experimental world average is (0.19 ppm), which represents a factor of 2 improvement in precision.
A new measurement of the magnetic anomaly a μ of the positive muon is presented based on data taken from 2020 to 2023 by the Muon g − 2 Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL). This dataset contains over 2.5 times the total statistics of our previous results. From the ratio of the precession frequencies for muons and protons in our storage ring magnetic field, together with precisely known ratios of fundamental constants, we determine a μ = 1 165 920 710 ( 162 ) × 10 − 12 (139 ppb) for the new datasets, and a μ = 1 165 920 705 ( 148 ) × 10 − 12 (127 ppb) when combined with our previous results. The new experimental world average, dominated by the measurements at FNAL, is a μ ( exp ) = 1 165 920 715 ( 145 ) × 10 − 12 (124 ppb). The measurements at FNAL have improved the precision on the world average by over a factor of 4.
We present details on a new measurement of the muon magnetic anomaly, . The result is based on positive muon data taken at Fermilab’s Muon Campus during the 2019 and 2020 accelerator runs. The measurement uses polarized muons stored in a 7.1-m-radius storage ring with a 1.45 T uniform magnetic field. The value of is determined from the measured difference between the muon spin precession frequency and its cyclotron frequency. This difference is normalized to the strength of the magnetic field, measured using nuclear magnetic resonance. The ratio is then corrected for small contributions from beam motion, beam dispersion, and transient magnetic fields. We measure (0.21 ppm). This is the world’s most precise measurement of this quantity and represents a factor of 2.2 improvement over our previous result based on the 2018 dataset. In combination, the two datasets yield (0.20 ppm). Combining this with the measurements from Brookhaven National Laboratory for both positive and negative muons, the new world average is (0.19 ppm).
The teaching of quantum physics is challenging, not the least because teachers must overcome the traditional narrative approach, students must gain a conceptual understanding of fundamentals, and citizens must become aware of quantum technologies. Quantum games are powerful tools to overcome obstacles and push one’s limits without fear of failure. We report on a pilot study involving twenty high-school student volunteers, consisting of a compact intervention module on the concepts of quantum states, properties, measurement, superposition, and entanglement within the framework of the Model of Educational Reconstruction, followed by playing a game, quantum TiqTaqToe. The outcomes of this research-based learning environment are discussed via the qualitative analysis of students’ answers to two open questionnaires. We find that students grasped the concepts of superposition and, with special awareness, entanglement, the game proving effective to help students experience their implications in quantum behavior. The informal and stimulating tournament atmosphere favored intertwining of the game with learning goals. Our central message is that the use of quantum game tools fits a teaching/learning environment in manners often not well understood in the literature; it enhances awareness of the nature of new and non-intuitive concepts, increases complementarity with other languages within the process of thinking about physics, boosts student engagement, and improves intervention efficiency and effectiveness.
Teaching and learning quantum mechanics is one of the most demanding educational and conceptual challenges, in particular in secondary schools where students do not possess an adequate mathematical background to effectively support the description of quantum behaviour. Educational research shows that traditional approaches, generally based on historical and narrative perspectives, are only partially effective. The reason is that they do not address in depth those basic quantum concepts that radically question the fundamentals of classical physics. A research-based educational program has been proposed to two final-year classes of an Italian scientific high school. In order to build the main concepts of quantum mechanics and their formal basic representation via real and simulated experiments, the program uses the light polarization as a context. A quantum game was then integrated in the educational program, to support students’ learning. Their conceptual paths, monitored by means of tutorials and questionnaires, show significant student learning especially on the concept of state and on appropriating the formalism meaning, whereas students more frequently referred to the geometrical vector representation instead of the algebraic-analytic formula. The quantum game has emerged to support intuition and operative experience in distinguishing the foundational concepts of superposition and entanglement.